Mine signal station



Oct. 19, 1937. R. c. KOOMANS MINE SIGNAL STATION 1 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1935 INVENTOR.

Oct. 19, 1937. R. c. KooMANs 2,096,498

MINE SIGNAL STATION Filed March 25, 1935 s Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 19, 1937.

R. C. KOOMANS I MINE SIGNAL STATION Filled March 25, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 'INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MINE SIGNAL STATION RobertC. Koomans, Noranda, Quebec, Canada Application March 25, 1995, Serial No. 12,791

' .6 Claims (01. 177-339) This invention relates to an electrical signalling device which is'particularly adaptable for use as a mine signal station employed to transmit and give signals to the hoistingengineer from any one of the various levels in the mine.

The invention has as an object a mine signal station comprising a manual operable switch, a visualsignal, and an audible signal enclosed in a suitable housing.

The invention has as a further object, a mine signal station of such construction that the switch unit, the visual signal means, and the audible signal means are contained in a housing and may be readily removed and replaced without the use of any tools, and whereby the station may comprise a switch unit only, or in combination with either the visual signal means, or the audible signal means, or both.

The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like characters designate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal, sectional View of the mine signal station housing with the switch unit, visual and audible signal units in elevation.

Figure 2 is a top planview of the signal station with the cover removed, and the switch unit and audible signal unit partially broken away.

Figures 3, 4 and are cross sectional views, taken on lines 3-3, 44, 55, Figure 1 respectively. I

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view showing a plurality of stations at diiferent mine levels, all being interconnected.

Figure '7 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuit through the signal station.

It will be understood, by those skilled in the art, that some type of signalling system is necessary in deep mines order that the miners at the various levels in the mine may signal the hoisting engineer and he, in turn, indicate. in what manner the cage, or elevator, is about to be moved. In some mines, a manually operable switch is located at each level of the mine adjacent the shaftway, and the switch is operated to transmit a signal to the hoisting engineer. Generally, however, it is preferred to have some form of interconnected signalling system so that the signal, given at any particular level in the mine, is indicated at all other-levels as well as in the hoisting as will also permit the hoisting engineer to indicate. in what manner he is about to move the mine cage. The signal station, to which this invention relates, is intended for use in the latter type of system.

The invention comprises generally, a suitable housing, means mounted in the housing and operable, when electrically energized, to givea visual and audible signal, a normally open energizing circuit connected to said signal means, and a switch mounted in the housing and operable from the outside thereof to close said energizing circuit.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, I0 designates a housing which is preferably formed of cast metal and is in the general shape of an elongated box of substantially square cross section-and having an open side opposite the bottom wall H. The upper edges of the side walls i2, I3, and end wall 14, are provided with an outwardly extending flange forming a margin l6 about the opening in the upper or face side of the housing. The housing is provided with a suitable cover which is preferably secured to the housing without the aid of screws, or like fastenings.

As here shown, the cover I! is formed of sheet metal, the sides and one end of which are bent downwardly and inwardly to receive the flanges I5 and-permit the cover to be placed on the housing by sliding it downwardly from the end I 4. The cover is provided with a suitable handle with which it may be readily manipulated. The bottom wall II is provided with suitable legs 2| to permit the station to be secured to the wall, or timbers, in the mine levels. The station is intended to be mounted, as indicated in Figures 1 and 2, with the end i4 upwardly.

The lower end wall is provided with an opening or passage 23, the opposite side walls of which are provided with grooves 24 to slidably receive the sides of the. flange 25 formed on the body 26 of the switch unit. The passage 23 is open towards the face of the housing It! to permit the switch unit to be inserted in the passage 23, as indicated in Figures 1,2 and 3, and is held in position. by the cover H.

A plate 30 of insulating material is mounted on the bottom wall H, and as here shown it is mounted upon the bosses 3! by means of screws 32 passing through the corners of the plate 39 and threading into the bosses whereby the plate 38 is mounted in spaced apart relationship to the bottom wall ll.

Bus bars or contact strips 33, 34, 35, are mounted upon the face of the. plate 30. The lower ends of the connector strips 33, 34 are connected directly to the terminals 36,31, and the connector lUr strip 35 is connected to the terminal 38 by the jumper or conductor 39. The switch unit, per se, is somewhat general in form to that shown in patent to Clausen 1,217,707, comprising a slidable stem 40 which is normally maintained in the position shown in Figure 1 by spring tension, and which is slidable in a downward direction by pulling downwardly on the ring 4|. The upper or inner end of the stem 40, which extends in the housing I0, is provided with a disk 42 insulated therefrom and which bridges the contacts 44, 45,

adjacent the slots 53.

when the ring 4| is pulled downwardly. Contacts 44, 45, are formed of resilient metal, and the bottom portions engage the contact strips 33, 34, when the switch unit is mounted in the lower end of the housing ID, as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

The audible signal unit indicated generally 58 is detachably mounted in the upper end portion of the housing I0, and consists of an angular frame having a pair of leg portions 5| extending into the housing at right angles to the bottom thereof. The outer edges of the legs 5| may be tapered as at 52. The outer edges of the legs are slidably received by .complemental slots or recesses 53 formed on the inner surface of the side walls of the housing I0, Figures 2-5, and extending perpendicular to the bottom wall H and opening toward the face of the housing.

A buzzer unit 54 is carried by the angular arm 55.

An insulatingblock 5B is secured to the lower ends of the legs 5|, and carries a pair of 'resilient contacts 51, 58, to which the conductors 59 are connected. The free ends of the contacts 51, 58, press against the bus bars 34, 35. The bracket carrying the buzzer unit is provided with raised surfaces 60 with which the cover |1 coacts to hold the buzzer unit in the housing, and with the contacts 51, 58, pressed against the connector strips 34, 35.

The device is also provided with a visual signal consisting of a removably insertable plate 65 on which is mounted a lamp receptacle 66. The side edges of the plate 65 are formed in the same manner as the side edges of the legs 5| of the buzzer supporting bracket, and are slidably received in corresponding slots 61 formed in the inner surfaces of the side walls of the housing The plate 65 also carries a pair of suitable contacts 68 which also contact the connector strips 34, 35. The plate 65 is also held in place by the cover H with the contacts 68 pressed against the strips 34, 35.

The side walls l2, l3 of the housing are provided with apertures 19 located between the receptacle supporting plate 65 and the lower end of the housing. These apertures 10 are arranged in alinement with the lamp bulb 1| and are closed by a disk 12 of transparent material attached to the sides of the housing by means of the ring 13, screws 14. The object of this construction is to provide a visual signal when the switch 26 is operated, as will be hereinafter'described.

It will be observed that the switch unit, the buzzer unit, and the visual signal unit, are each removably insertable in the housing l0, and are secured and held in place by the cover l1. There are no bolts, screws, or other fastening means, employed to secure these devices in the housing ID. This feature of my signal unit is of great practical importance. Those familiar with mine operations are well aware of the 'fact that in many instances corrosion takes place rapidly, and in apparatus that is assembled with screws, or bolts, or the like, the corrosion renders the disassembly of the device extremely diflicult, if not impossible. In view of the fact that it is necessary to have the signalling device in the mine in continuous operation, it is extremely important that a shutdown does not have to be made to effect suitable repairs or replacements in the signalling system.

In the event the switch, or buzzer unit, become defective, or the lamp bulb burns out, it is only necessary to slide the cover |1 upwardly, and anyone of the three unitsmay be removed from the housing I0 by simply sliding them out. Extra units can easily be kept in stock, and when one unit is removed from a particular housing, another" unit may be inserted without even the necessity of shutting off the signal system. Also, it is extremely advantageous to have the switch unit, audible signal unit, and visual signal unit, contained in a unitary construction which may be mounted in place as a single unit thus saving a large amount of time, and particularly time and material in wiring the circuit to the units.

It is to be understood that these signal stations at the various mine levels are not operated by the miners, or other employees, but only by the cage, or skip, tender. There is usually a separate signal system very similar to that used in connection with elevators in an oflice building, by which anyone at a particular level may signal to the cage tender that he desires to be transported from thatfparticular level The cage tender then operates the signal to the hoisting engineer. Accordingly, these signal stations are installed adjacent the mine shaft so that the cage tender can conveniently reach them from the cage, or elevator. With this signal system, both the cage tender and the hoisting engineer are in agreement previous to the movement of the cage.

Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of the electrical circuit in each signal unit. As previously described, the spring contacts 51, 58, associated withthe buzzer unit, and contacts 68, associated with the lamp unit, engage the bus bars or connector strips 34, 35, and are held into engagement with the same by the cover |1 coacting with the face of the units. The spring contacts 44, 45, associated with the switch unit, engage the connector strips 33, 34.

Figure 6 illustrates diagrammatically one circuit, or method, of wiring and interconnecting a number of my signal stations in such manner that when the switch unit in any one of the stations is closed, a visual and audible signal is given in each of the other signal stations in the various levels of the mines, and also the switch station in the hoisting engineers compartment.

The feed wire 80 is connected to the terminal 38 of each of the signal stations. This terminal, in turn, is electrically connected to the connector strip 35 through the jumper 39. The return conductor 8| of the feed circuit is connected to the terminal 36, or contact strip 33, of each of the signal stations, and the connector strip 34 of each signal station is connected to the'conductor 82 which terminates at the terminal 31 in the hoisting engineer's signal station. It will be observed that the contact strip 35 is hot at all times and accordingly, a hot feed is' furnished to both the buzzer and the lamp units. However, the return circuit is incomplete inasmuch as all the contact strips 34 are connected to the conductor 82, and, not to the common return wire 8| due to the fact that all of the switches 42 are normally open.

, Assuming that the switch unit in the signal station at No. 1 level in the mine is closed, a circuit is completed from conductor Bil, contact 38, jumper 39, contact strip 35, through the lamp and buzzer units, contact strip 34, switch contact 45, disk 42, contact 44, to connector strip 33, to the return conductor 8!. Thus a circuit is established through the lamp unit and buzzer at No. 1 level. Inasmuch as the hot side of the line is connected to both the buzzer and the lamp units of each signal station, and the connector strips 34 of each unit are interconnected by the conductors 82, the closing of the switch unit in any signal station completes the return circuit for the buzzer and lamp units in each signal station.

Continuing with the assumption in the preceding paragraph that the switch of the station at the bottom level is closed, a circuit is established through the lamp unit and buzzer at the intermediate level through conductor 8%, bus 35, lamp unit and buzzer to bus 34, conductor 82, to the station at the bottom level through the closed switch thereof to bus 33, to return conductor iii. In like manner, a circuit is completed through the lamp unit and buzzer of each of the upper stations including the engineers station. In other words, the closing of the switch 42 in any one station completes a return circuit for all of the stations.

The branch three conductor cable enters the passage 8% in the lower end of the box beneath the switch unit. This passage may be threaded. to receive a conduit enclosing the cable, or provided with some suitable cable connector.

It will be observed that it is only necessary to run a three conductor cable in the main shaft, mount a signal station in the main level adjacent the shaft, and make the three connections to the cable. The entire signal station may be readily and easily replaced and also, either the lamp buzzer, or switch unit, may be individually replaced without the necessity of employing any special tools and with a main consumption of time on the part of the maintenance man, and without the necessity whatever of shutting down the signal system.

What I claim is:

1. A mine signal station comprising a housing open at one side, a plurality of electrical contacts mounted within the housing, a signal unit, means for removably mounting said unit in the housing with the terminals of the unit engaging certain of said contacts, a switch, means for removably mounting the switch in the housing with its terminals engaging certain other of said contacts, a removable cover member for the open side of the housing and being operable, when in closed position, to hold said signal unit and switch in the housing with their respective terminals in engagement with said contacts.

2. A mine signal station comprising a housing open at one side, a plurality of electrical contacts mounted within the housing, a signal unit, means for removably mounting said unit in the housing with the terminals of the unit engaging certain of said contacts, a switch, means for removably mounting the switch in the housing with its termounted Within the housing, a signal unit' mounted within the housing, a switch mounted within the housing, a removable cover member for the open side of the housing, said housing and cover member having means cooperable with said signal unit and switch to removably secure said unit and switch in the housing with the terminals of said unit and switch in engagement with said contacts.

4. A mine signal station comprising a housing open at one side, a plurality of bus bars mounted within the housing on the back wall thereof, a signal unit, means for removably mounting said unit in the housing with its terminals engaging certain of said bus bars, a switch, means for. removably mounting said switch in the housing with its terminals engaging certain other of said bus bars and being provided with an operating member extending through and being operable from the outside of said housing, a removable cover member for the open side of the housing and being operable when in closed position for holding the signal unit and said switch in the housing with their respective contacts engaging said bus bars.

5. A mine signalstation comprising a housing open at one side, a plurality of contacts mounted within the housing, a signal unit mounted in the housing with its terminals engaging certain of said contacts, a switch, means for removably mounting the switch in the housing, aremovable cover member for the open side of the housing and being operable, when in closed position, to hold said switch in the housing with its terninalsin engagement with certain other of said contacts.

6. A mine signal station comprising a housing open at one side and having opposite side walls provided with a plurality of grooves extending inwardly from the marginal surface about said opening, a plurality of bus bars mounted within the housing on the bottom wall thereof, a signal unit slidably mounted in one pair of grooves and having its terminals engaging two of said bus bars, a switch slidably mounted in another pair of said grooves and having its terminals engaging one of said first mentioned bus bars and a third bus bar, a cover member slidably mounted on the open side of the housing and being operable, when in closed position, to move said signal unit and switch toward the bottom wall of the housing and hold the contacts of said unit and switch in engagement with the respective bus bars.

ROBERT C. KOOMANS. 

